Council of Europe launches European campaign to stop violence against women in the home

Strasbourg 23.11.2006: Domestic violence must be criminalised, victims protected and perpetrators punished across Europe, says the Council of Europe.

The call comes as Europe marks the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. It is also the prelude to a major conference on the subject in Madrid, Spain, where the 46 member Council will launch a campaign aimed at stopping a major human rights abuse. (Monday 27 Madrid, in the Spanish Senate)

The launch ceremony will include Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and Senate President Francisco Javier Rojo García and, from the Council of Europe, Secretary General Terry Davis, Committee of Ministers Chair Fiorenzo Stolfi, Parliamentary Assembly President René van der Linden and Ian Micallef, President of the Chamber of Local Authorities of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.

The campaign will run until 2008 and was devised when the Council’s 2005 Warsaw summit demanded immediate action in the face of widespread violence to women in Europe. It will work through governments, parliaments and regional and local authorities, creating partnerships with leading NGOs to ensure wide-ranging action. The Campaign aims to make the public aware of the extent of violence to women and to encourage new laws and practices to stop violence.

Figures gathered by the Council show that violence happens in every European country. Although statistics are difficult to compare from country to country because of the different research methods, studies for individual countries show:

· across countries one fifth to one quarter of all women have experienced physical violence at least once during their lives, and more than one-tenth have suffered sexual violence
· Figures for all forms of violence, including stalking, are as high as 45%.
· Most violent acts against women are carried out by men in the immediate social environment, most often partners and ex-partners.
· It is estimated that about 12% to 15% of all women have been in a relationship of domestic abuse after the age of 16.
· The cost to society of domestic violence is enormous. Studies in individual countries have ranged from 2.4 billion euros per year in Spain, to 34 billion euros in the UK.

Further information on the campaign is available on www.coe.int/stopviolence and on the conference on the www.coe.int/stopviolence/conference

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Operational Information:
The conference is open to the press and will run from 9am to 6.30pm. It will review the extent of domestic violence in Europe before focussing on support for victims, innovative policies and how to change attitudes. The launching ceremony for the campaign will be held at 12.10pm. A press conference is scheduled for 1.15pm.

Accreditation:
Journalists should contact Clara Núñez Lagos of the Senate press service (Tel. +34 91 538 14 96; Fax: +34 91 538 17 00; [email protected]) giving their media, and a letter from their editor, along with copies of identity documents

Television journalists should contact Alfonso Palazón of the Senate audiovisual service in Madrid (+34 629 99 38 06) for questions on the event itself. For television journalists, a videokit of interviews is available from the Council of Europe in professional format, please contact the audiovisual service on +33 3 88 41 25 65 or [email protected].

Journalists are asked to use the Bailén street entrance. A working room with PCs is available. Press packs will be made available, including a question and answer sheet and an article by Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis.
Interviews with participants can be arranged on the spot.
Photographs from the conference are available.

Council of Europe press contacts:
Felix Santos: Tel. +34 91 715.82.41; Mobile +34 66 942 39 67; [email protected]
Cathie Burton : Tel. +33 3 88 41 28 93; Mobile : +33 6 85 11 64 93; [email protected]
Renate Zikmund: Tel. + 33 3 88 41 20 65; Mobile + 33 6 23 94 11 03; [email protected]
Francesc Ferrer : Tel + 33 3 88 41 32 50 ; Mobile + +33 6 30 49 68 22; [email protected]

Council of Europe to launch first Europe-wide campaign to “Stop domestic violence against women”

Strasbourg, 14.11.2006: A major Council of Europe campaign aimed at stopping domestic violence against women Europe-wide will be launched at the Spanish Senate in Madrid on Monday November 27 (Plaza de la Marina Española, Madrid).

Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis will be amongst dignatories at the official launch ceremony at the Spanish Senate building at 12.30 pm.

The launch takes place during a conference bringing together around 300 top European experts, politicians and NGOs united in their determination to stop domestic violence against women. It will focus on three themes: support and protection of victims, legal and policy measures to combat violence, and changing attitudes towards violence.

The Council of Europe will be represented by Committee of Ministers Chair and San Marino Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Fiorenzo Stolfi, Parliamentary Assembly President René van der Linden, Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg and Ian Micallef, President of the Local Authorities Chamber of the Council of Europe Congress

Speakers will include ministers from different Council member countries and representatives from international organisations and the Spanish Senate.

Operational Information

The conference is open to the press, and starts at 9am.
A press conference will be held at 1.15 pm.
Journalists are asked to use the Bailén street entrance. A working room with PCs is available.

Further information on the campaign is available on www.coe.int/stopviolence and on the conference on the www.coe.int/stopviolence/conference.

Council of Europe press contacts:
In Madrid (Spanish-speaking)
Felix Santos: Tel. +34-91 715.82.41; Mobile +34 66 942 39 67 ; [email protected]
In Strasbourg,
Cathie Burton : Tel. +33 3 88 41 28 93; Mobile : tel+33 6 85 11 64 93;[email protected]

Television journalists should contact Alfonso Palazón of the Senate audiovisual service in Madrid (+34 629 99 38 06) for questions on the event itself.
For television journalists, a videokit of interviews is available from the Council of Europe in professional format, please contact the audiovisual service on +33 3 88 41 25 65 or [email protected].

Council of Europe Domestic Violence Campaign goes online

Strasbourg, 12.10.2006 – A website, specially designed by the Human Rights Directorate General to introduce the new Council of Europe Campaign to Stop Domestic Violence against Women has just been created and is available in English on: www.coe.int/stopviolence/intergov

The site contains general information on the background and objectives of the Campaign with a special focus on intergovernmental activities. It also offers links to the parliamentary and to the regional/local dimension of the Campaign as well as to useful resources on the phenomenon of violence against women, including domestic violence. Under the media section journalists will find press releases, speeches, interviews and briefing notes. New documents and multimedia items (photos, audio and video kits) will be added to the site regularly.

Practical information on the Launching Conference on 27 November 2006 in Madrid (including registration form, programme etc) will be also available online. A French version of the site is in preparation.

Green light for Council of Europe Campaign against domestic violence

Strasbourg, 22.06.2006 - The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers has just approved the blueprint for the Council of Europe Campaign to combat violence against women, including domestic violence. A high-level conference to launch the campaign will be organised in November 2006 (around the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November) and will mark the beginning of 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence. The campaign will end in March 2008. Regional seminars will be held in the member states during 2007.